Toe cap for infant&#39;s shoes



June 13,1967 'T. w. STEININGER 3,324,579

TOE CAP FOR INFANT'S SHOES Filed May 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l J1me 1967 T. w. STEININGER 3,32

TOE CAP FOR INFANTS SHOES Filed May 25, 1966 2 Sheets$heet 2 g9, INVENTOR Inglewood, Calif. 90304 Filed May 25, 1966, Ser. No. 552,871 1 Claim. (Cl. 367.2)

This invention relates to a readily attachable and removable toe cap for an infants shoe.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a toe cap for an infrants shoe of the kind to be more particularly described hereinafter which may be readily attached to or removed from its desired position on the shoe in the manner of rubbers or golashes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a toe cap which may be secured on an infants shoe in covering relation to the toe by a flexible strap engageable rearwardly of the shoe and about the heel of the shoe to removably secure the toe cap in its proper relation to the shoe.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shoe toe cap having a pair of toe covering members secured together by an elastic lace which is extended rearwardly of the shoe on which the shoe cap is engaged, for easily and readily attaching and detaching the toe cap with the shoe.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a shoe toe cap of this kind which may be readily formed and manufactured by presently known and available methods and machines at a low cost to the manufacturer, the retailer, and the customer.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter described and the novel features thereof defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a shoe toe cap for an infants shoe constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lower shield member detached from the upper toe member and removed from the assembly.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the upper toe covering member removed from the assembly.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a modified toe cap member constructed according to an embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the modified form of the toe cap.

FIG. 7 is a transverse section taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of a second modified form of this invention.

FIG. 9 is a transverse section taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of a third modified form of this invention.

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the third modified form of this invention with the shoe removed.

form.

FIG. 13 is a rear elevation of the third modified form of this invention.

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of a fourth modified form of this invention.

6 Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view of the third modified 3,324,579 Patented June 13, 1967 rial as the structure of the shoe in itself has little or nothing to do with the structure, use and operation of the shoe toe cap or hood 20. In one form of the invention to be later described, the toe cap is, however, particularly adapted for use with a shoe of the lace type.

The shoe toe cap 20 is formed of a pair of sheet members 21 and 22 connected together along their adjacent and engageable side edges to provide the structure of the hood 20 which is closed at its forward or front end and open at its rear end for sliding engagement on the toe of the shoe.

Each of the upper sheets 21 and lower sheet 22 is provided with a plurality or row of spaced apart holes 23 therethrough through which an elastic lace 24 may be engaged much in the manner of a conventional shoe lace.

The shoe lace 24 when extended through each of the openings 23 and then stretched to engage about the heel H of the shoe will afford a plurality of pleats 25 in the toe cap or hood 20.

The lace 24, being elastic and engageable about the rear surface of the heel of the shoe, will draw the hood into its proper covering position on the toe of the shoe S. By being elastic, the hood 20 and lace 24 may afford themselves to fit any size of shoe with which the shoe toe cap is to be used.

The formation of the pleats 25 on the toe cap 20 will provide a moccasin type of effect on the toe cap.

The pleats 25 are formed on the upper sheet and lower sheet at a position between the adjacent holes 23 so that the elastic lace 24, when contracting the hood 20 to its fitting position on the shoe cap S, will distribute the pleats 25 along the length of the side edges of the toe cap.

In FIGS. 5 to 7, there is shown a modified form of the toe cap for an infants shoe wherein the modified shoe toe cap 30 is provided with an upper sheet 31 and a lower sheet 32 which are formed integrally together thus obviating the use of a lace for securing the upper sheet 31 to the lower sheet 32.

The shoe cap 30' is closed at the front end thereof and open at the rear end in much the same manner as the toe cap or hood 20 described above.

The elastic lace 34 secured at its opposite ends to the end edges of the hood 30 is extended rearwardly from the shoe cap or hood 30 and engages about the rear side of the heel H of the shoe.

A plurality of pleats 35 are formed in the shoe cap 30, at the time of the formation of the shoe cap, and thus the pleats 35 are not dependent upon the lace between the upper and lower sheets of the hood.

In FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawings, there is shown a second modified form of this invention wherein the shoe toe cap 40 may be made of liquid plastic so that the upper sheet 41 and lower sole sheet 42 are formed integral at the time of the formation and manufacture of the shoe toe cap 40.

In this formation of this type of toe cap, formed in the hood so that a plain toe is effected in place of a moccasin type of toe cap, described above.

The elastic lace 44 is secured at its opposite ends to the rear edge of the hood 40- and extended rearwardly of the hood for engaging about the outer side of the heel H thereby securing the shoe toe cap onto the toe of a shoe S.

With this structure of the shoe toe cap, as well as the structure of the shoe toe cap described above, the shoe no pleats are 5 toe cap may he slid onto the toe of a shoe or removed therefrom being held in its proper covering position on the toe of the shoe by the strap or lace which engages about the outer edge or side of the heel of the shoe.

In FIGS. 10 to 13 inclusive, there is shown a third modified form of this invention wherein the shoe toe cap 50 is provided with an upper sheet 51 engageable over the top of the toe portion of the shoe and a lower sole en- 3. gaging sheet 52 engageableunder the toe of the shoe.

The lower sheet 52 is continued rearwardly of the shoe S to provide a longitudinally extending tail 53 engageable under the sole S of :the shoeSand underneath the heel H of the shoe.

An-elastic-lace'54 is secured at its opposite ends within an opening-56 M the end of each of the sides of the lower sheet 52 on the oppositesides of the shoe toe cap 50.

' The shoe toe cap 50 is formed much in the same manner as the liquid plastic moccasin type shoe toe cap described above. The upper sheet 51 and lower sole sheet 52 are formed integrally in injection molds of liquid plastic to provide a plurality of adjacent longitudinally extending pleats 55.

The tail 53 is extended along the length of the shoe S to the heel thereof. The rear end of the tail 53 is provided with a plurality of transversely adjacent openings 57 through which'the lace 54 is adapted to be extended to position the shoe toe'cap 50 on the shoe S.

The rear end 'of the tail 53 is turned upwardly from the major portion of'the tail to extend in overlying relation to the rear side of the heel H of the shoe. In this manner the lace 54 will be positioned above the sole S of the shoe S to thereby hold the shoe toe cap 50 in its proper position on' the shoe S.

The use and operation of the shoe toe cap 50 is subst-antially the same as the useand operation of the shoe toe caps described above with the exception of the tail 53 which extends longitudinally of the shoe S underneath the sole S of the shoe and upwardly over the rear edge of the heel H.

FIG. 14 of the drawings shows a further embodiment of the invention wherein the toe cap 60* is a one-piece plastic member provided with a snap fastener 61 secured to the edge of the upper portion thereof. One of the mating members of the fastener is attached to the free end of a strap 62 which is long enough to be looped around a portion of the lace L and connected with the other member of the fastener to provide a convenient means for attaching the toe cap to the shoe.

While the specific details of this invention have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A shoe toe cap for an infants shoe provided with a lace, said toe cap comprising a hood closed at the front end and open at the rear end, fastener means secured to the upper free edge portion of said hood for engagement with a portion of said lace to detachably secure the toe cap to the shoe, said fastener means comprising a strap and a pair of snap fastener members, the strap and one of said fastener members secured to the upper free edge portion of the hood and the other of said fastener members secured to the free end of said strap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 80,753 8/1868 Marshall 36-7.2 2,535,560 12/1950 Barr 3645 X 2,544,264 3/1951 Howard 36-7.2 2,677,903 5/1954 Gaquin 36--45 X 3,206,874 9/1965 Ellis et a1. 36-72 3,213,551 10/1965 Krauss 36-2.5

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primiary Examiner. 

